The present invention relates to the sterilization and disinfection arts. It finds particular application in conjunction with electrochemically activated solutions containing chlorine species for sterilization or disinfection of medical and pharmaceutical equipment in the presence of organic contamination, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It should be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to other sterilization, disinfection, and sanitization methods employing oxidizing species in which the active species is degraded over time.
The reusability of medical instruments has become increasingly important in an effort to provide cost effective health care. Recently, electrochemically activated antimicrobial solutions produced from brine have been developed for disinfection or sterilization of medical instruments and the like. The species active as antimicrobials, such as hypochlorite and other chlorine species, which are often referred to as "free" chlorine, are generated by passing brine (a solution of sodium chloride in water) through a specialized electrochemical cell. Typically, free chlorine concentrations of from about 2 to about 2000 ppm are employed for disinfection or sterilization. The instruments are treated by immersing them for a predetermined period in the activated solution. These solutions have the advantage of effecting fairly rapid microbial decontamination without leaving harmful or unsightly deposits on the instruments. Moreover, the antimicrobial is advantageously generated only as it is required, avoiding the need for storing potentially hazardous oxidants.
Typically, instruments are cleaned with detergent, or the like, to remove dirt and other contaminants present, before disinfection or sterilization of the instruments in the electrochemically activated solution. However, organic contaminants, such as serum, which are deposited on the instruments during use or contaminants present in the cleaning water, are not always completely removed during this cleaning process. Many of the instruments which are now disinfected or sterilized, such as endoscopes, contain tortuous paths, narrow lumens, and other difficult to clean areas where organic material is sometimes trapped during the initial cleaning process.
Organic materials have now been found to render electrochemically active solutions inactive by reducing the concentration of active species available for oxidation. There remains a need for a method of regaining the activity of electrochemically activated solutions in the presence of organic materials.
The present invention provides a new and improved composition for use in electrochemically activated solutions which overcomes the above referenced problems and others.